Sharp words to hide my heart Afiladas palabras
by panyasan
Summary: A time travel mission to Detroit in 2004 to find Xindi-Reptilians in the past goes wrong. When Commander Tucker and T'Pol try to rescue captain Archer they end up in a time loop, stranding them in Spain in 2004.
1. Chapter 1

_**Afiladas palabras y deseadas **_

or

**Sharp words to hide my heart **

**Part one**

by panyasan

**Disclaimer** : Enterprise and its characters are property of CBS/Paramount.

Some quotes are from the ENT episode _Carpenter Street_.

**Rating: **PG-13

**A****uthor's note: **Many thanks to my beta Dinah**. **This is my Holiday Exchange fic for Escriba. I was inspired by her question if anybody could make an interesting fic about the ENT episode _Carpenter Street_. This story takes a very different direction from what was shown on screen. You could consider it AU, but I like to see this fic as "a loop in time" in the RU. Hope you will enjoy.

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**- Spain - 22****th**** of August, 2160 -**

T'Pol stood still. She tried to concentrate, to push down the emotions swirling inside her. The flow of emotions was too strong; it pushed through her veins; it made her lose every logical thought. Her control was slipping fast and only because of this music, this song.

She tried to concentrate on her surroundings. She was in a Starfleet gathering. There was a huge crowd of Humans speaking in English and Spanish. She smelt their sweat. She smelt their liquor. She didn't like crowds – too many emotions, so little space to breathe – but she could always handle it. Not now. In front of her, a band was playing soft, gently music. A female had taken the microphone, and it was her voice and the lyrics that moved her so strongly. Vulcans, stationed on Earth, were required to take lessons in the three most spoken languages on Earth – Chinese, English and Spanish – so she did understand the song. More than that, her sharp ears could hear Ensign Sato translating the text into English for Ensign Rostov, who listened intently. So in stereo the song rolled over her and made her struggle for control.

_Hace tiempo que no cerraba los ojos_ (So much time has passed since I closed my eyes)

_y te veía ta__n claro, hasta creo que te he tocado_ (and I saw you so clearly, I even think I've touched you)

_Yo que intenté que lo tuyo quedara lejos_ (I who tried to keep you far away)

_y no sabes lo que has hecho al abrazarme así_ (and you don't know what you've done holding me like this.)

_He creído morirme. He creído __morir _ (I thought I was dying. I thought I was dying.)

_He creído morirme. He creído morir_ ( I thought I was dying. I thought I was dying.)

C_uántos siglos-luz te he estado esperando _ (How many light-years have I been waiting for you)

_pero siempre había alguien y todavía lo hay_ (but there was always somebody and still there is.)

_Afiladas palabras y deseadas _ (Sharp words and desired, wanted words).

_no has debido pronunciarlas si no son verdad _ (you shouldn't have pronounced them if they aren't true.)

The singer repeated the chorus – _He creído morirme. He creído morir_ – until she finished the song. _He creído morirme. He creído morir... sin ti_.

_I thought I was dying…without you…_

Somehow those last words produced a new set of emotions that were so strong she hardly could identify what they were. She took a cleansing breath and, looking around, saw the entrance to the beach – to space, to air, to breath – and left the room.

Outside, alone, she breathed in the salty air. She regained control. In the background she could hear that the musicians had changed to a more upbeat song. She concentrated on the sound of the ocean waves rolling gently to the shore. She felt the soft sand beneath her feet. Her poor night vision made it impossible for her to see much more than the silvery moon shimmering in the darkness.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "T'Pol, are you okay?" Trip's worried voice came from behind her. She turned around. She saw her husband's bright blue eyes, shining like beacons of safety.

Trip's hand still rested assuredly on her shoulder when he added, "You just ran out in a very unVulcanlike fashion. I don't think anyone but me noticed. You were getting emotional, listening to that song."

"Music can have that effect on me," she answered in a low voice.

"I know, but this is different." He knew her well.

"It is." She fell silent, trying to sort out her feelings. They were illogical. Not even in her days in the Expanse had she acted like this. The days of the Expanse – her reactions had something to do with that period. "I didn't have any difficulties with the first places we visited, but here my emotions seem to be easily provoked," she explained.

She thought of her day from the moment she set foot on Spanish ground. They first visited Starfleet Headquarters at Iruñea, then the department of Research and Development in Barcelona. Afterwards, a group of Starfleet officers, including her and Trip, were offered a tour. They saw several buildings designed by the famous architect, Gaudí. A **basilica **called _Sagrada Família_, which was begun in 1882 and only recently completed, included beautiful towers in oddly formed shapes and statues of a great pelican, killing himself to feed his young. _The needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many_, she had thought. The colossal building was aesthetically pleasing, but for a Vulcan, the many details were distracting. Trip had given her an inquiring look during their tour of the **basilica **and asked what she thought of this immense work of architecture. "It a work of art, but architects and architecture don't hold much interest for me," she told him. He had found this, strangely enough, very amusing.

Then they went to the coast where the base was situated. Restlessness had filled her bones. It was foolish. Why did a place she had never visited have this effect?

T'Pol looked at Trip. "I have never visited this country…" she began.

"…but you get the feeling you've been here," Trip ended her sentence.

Surprised, she nodded.

"Me too. And I've never been to Spain, either," Trip continued.

"There must be a logical explanation," T'Pol said. "It can hardly be a coincidence that we both experienced the same thing."

"I can't think of any," Trip replied. "Maybe we're both very tired. Some fresh air would do us some good. Let's take a walk."

She didn't think her fatigue was the cause of her behavior, but other than strange, unscientific feelings, she had hardly any leads to investigate. She had to admit that a walk would be beneficial, but she still objected: "It's dark."

"Not for me. You can hold my hand."

"Don't you want to go back to the party?"

"Not really. The end of the war and the opening of a new starbase are guaranteed to put Starfleet officers in the mood to party. I've got a feeling they're just getting around to singing stupid song by young ensigns. I'm getting too old for this kind of party. The times when I amused my fellow officers with songs like, _I'm too sexy for my shirt_, are over." Trip grinned.

"I can't recall you ever singing that song," she replied, thinking that Trip always looked too sexy for his shirt.

"Probably did sometime," he answered. He leaned over to her, filling her nostrils with his familiar smell. In a baritone voice that sent small shivers to her spine, he said, "But I can sing it for you now."

"A walk would be agreeable," she replied.

Her hand slid into his and she stepped into the darkness. A couple of minutes into their walk, Trip stopped and pointed to the road next to the beach. "Today, during the tour, we visited a small square. There was a statue that I'd like you to see."

They walked towards the road and searched for the square. When they found it, T'Pol could see that it was a small place surrounded by houses. In the middle, a statue was placed. She clearly saw small marks of deterioration on the brown statue, made by the salty sea wind and rain. She took out her tricorder, making Trip laugh that she would take her science equipment everywhere with her, including to a party. She remarked that again she had proven it was a very useful habit and checked the age of the statue. It was approximately 150 years old. Her eyes could finally make out that it was a statue of a big bird, spreading his wings like he was soaring above the sea. "It's an image of an albatross," she concluded, "a big, white bird that flies over the ocean and is seldom seen near the coast." Trip teased her about her knowledge of Earth's wildlife, but she hardly heard him. The sight of this statue left her feeling unsettled. It was as if she had seen the statue before, like she had experienced this scene before: she and Trip on the beach, the sand, the soft sound of the rolling waves and a statue of an albatross. Like a dream. Or another life.

* * *

**Stardate 240267.3, November 16th, 2153 - Starship **_**Enterprise – The Expanse**_

T'Pol was finding it difficult to meditate. She stared at the flame and tried to focus. She longed for her white space, but when she was there in this place of rest, she felt as if something or someone was missing. She pushed all her unrest away and reached for one of her geometrical objects. She concentrated on the form – it was an old meditation technique – but she soon realized that it was not working. She breathed in and out, taking another cleansing breath, but she couldn't keep thoughts of recent events – Trip's accident, the injury to his brain which put him in a coma, the creation of Sim, her conversation with Sim - from running through her mind.

She could not deny that Sim had an effect on her, but it was not until after his confession that she understood why. She'd made a connection with the boy because she had become attached to the man he was trying to save. When she had seen Trip on the bio bed in a coma, an almost overwhelming fear had consumed her. She had feared he would die, and her Vulcan blood was telling her, without any logic, that if he died, part of her _katra_ would die too.

The commander had always fascinated her with his combination of intelligence, skills and imagination. She also admired, without question, his unique style of leadership: kind but firm, with an eye for the talents of others. This was all combined with a joy of life and an almost childlike desire to see new things, which sometimes confused and annoyed her. It was also something she had missed in the past few months. He seemed to be able to provoke emotions in her, but she was able to control them.

Now Sim had told her something she found very hard to believe – that Trip may be harboring romantic feelings for her. She knew that the only logical action would be not to act on this new fact.

_It must be the_ _Expanse_," she thought, "_which makes me even contemplate this possibility. The warnings about this area of space had been clear." _She embraced this conclusion and focused again on her meditation. After three hours of analysis and meditation, she finally reached the level of peace she wanted. A wave of tiredness washed over her. She got ready for bed, and in a couple minutes, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

A beeping sound pierced through the silence and woke her; it was the door bell. When she opened the door, there was the captain, accompanied by his canine.

"Sorry to get you up, but this couldn't wait," he said.

The captain stepped into the privacy of her quarters and made no effort to stop his dog from doing the same. In his abrupt fashion, the captain came right to the matter at hand. "I just had a visit from Daniels. I think all your doubts about time travel are about to go out the window."

She knew Daniels was this so-called time traveler, which the captain had interacted with before. She doubted that she could be convinced, but she listened further to his story.

"Daniels and his team have discovered three Reptilians on Earth in the early twenty-first century. He wants to send us back to find out what they're doing."

The captain explained that Daniels had told him that he could only bring one other person. She assumed that this meant that Daniels' time travelers were guided by certain rules and that only two people were allowed on a mission.

"If Daniels is the time traveler he claims to be, why doesn't he find out for himself?" she asked, still skeptical about this Daniels.

The captain showed no sign of doubts. "It took him a long while to get permission to interact with me. There are clearances. He said it would take too much time."

"I would think he would have all the time in the world," she remarked. But the captain ignored her.

"He said the three Xindi travelled to Earth from our century. They've been there for two months. They're not sightseeing, T'Pol. We have to find out what they're up to." After informing her that they would meet Daniels in the Command Center at 0800 tomorrow, he called his dog, told T'Pol to check the database for a suitable outfit for 2004, and left.

She lit a candle to chase away the smell of the canine and checked the database.

The next day she joined Commander Tucker and the captain in the corridor. She had made an effort to cover her ears and was dressed in boots, trousers and a jacket in the fashion of the early twenty-first century. The captain was showing Tucker a box in which, he later told her, 16 little temporal tags were stored. The purpose of those tags was to signal Daniels to return her and the captain to _Enterprise_. The commander seemed to be objecting to their hasty departure, and she could not fail to see the logic behind his remarks. However, she thought it was safer for the mission and the ship not to leave the captain alone.

They traveled to Detroit in the year 2004. She and the captain easily found the Human helper of the Xindi. This man called Loomis, a rather smelly and greasy-haired man, was abducting people and bringing them to a secret facility. The Xindi Reptilians were using his abductees as test subjects for their biological weapon against mankind. Loomis was easily convinced to change sides and help them. The captain explained that he wanted Loomis to smuggle him into the facility as another test subject, only he would be fully awake. This would allow the captain to investigate the facility after the room was clear.

T'Pol doubted that this strategy was the wisest course of action, but the captain had it all planned, so she followed his instructions. She was assigned to watch Loomis and wait for the captain to return. While they were seated in the car, Loomis started to complain that helping them had made him lose money. It seemed that money in that time period was a powerful motivator. Loomiswanted to – as Commander Tucker would have said – strike a deal.

"You catch these guys and I get immunity, right?" Loomis said. "We're not talking about copping to a lesser charge."

"When my associate returns, we'll discuss the details," she told him.

"Hey, I'm taking a big chance here, okay? If your associate doesn't catch them, they're going to come looking for me, okay? You two have to keep your word."

She could not believe what she'd just heard. "You've been abducting people for money and you're questioning our honesty?"

Then to her horror Loomis took out a small stick and set it on fire, claiming he was a little tense. She had to threaten him with a phase pistol for him to stop this dangerous activity. Loomis threw the cigarette out of the car. Her stare had the desired effect: he didn't move for a least a couple of minutes. At least there was silence.

Until now, the mission had given her little time to analyze her problem, but in the quiet of the car, her mind drifted back to Sim's revelation that Trip had an interest in her – thinking of her, enjoying their neuropressure time together.

It opened possibilities. It did not open possibilities.

Next to her, Loomis started to move again; he was filled with an unrest that seemed natural to him. She concentrated on the clock in front of her. While both of them sat in the car, time was ticking away. They saw some shadowy figures leave. Loomis poked a finger in their direction and stated that they were his former associates. She expected to hear from the captain very soon, but nothing happened.

Loomis raised his voice and put into words what she had been thinking. "Your partner is taking his time."

She was tempted to give Loomis a neck pinch to render him unconscious while she went out to investigate. Instead she took the car keys, told him to stay in the car and snuck over to the building, her phase pistol ready to shoot at the first sign of a problem. Then her sharp ears picked up anoise_,_ a groan. It was the sound of a person in fear of death – the captain.

The captain was lying on one of the beds, an IV bag dripping liquid into his body. His eyes were wide, his jaw clenched in pain. With a voice filled with agony, he lifted his head when he saw her and hoarsely whispered, "T'Pol, help me."

"What happened, Captain?"

Struggling with his words, the captain explained that while he was looking around, he was discovered by the Reptilians. They captured him, strapped him to a bed and injected him with the same substance as the other test subjects. "I'm…dying. Get me …out of here," the Captain stammered. Sweat was dripping from his face.

She checked the equipment, stopped the IV drip so the captain would not be exposed anymore and assessed their situation. When she released the captain, the Xindi would be alerted; however, there was no other option. She had no cure for the captain, and he was in no condition to complete the mission. He needed treatment by a physician. "I suggest we use the temporal tags to transport you back to Enterprise. Doctor Phlox will be able to help you. I will stay behind and finish the mission. I will go to retrieve the tags and be back as soon as possible."

She took a sample of the liquid the Reptilians were using and left to pick up the tags. The captain protested, saying he wanted to finish the mission. "Don't ….leave me!" the captain demanded, urgency raising his voice even further. "Get me out...of the bed...and I will be fine!" Then he passed out.

She quickly checked the unconscious body of the captain before going back to the car, where she found that Loomis had fallen asleep. She opened the trunk of the car where the box of temporal tags was stored. She opened the box and, while she was holding it, she touched one of the tags. The next moment there was a flash and a buzzing sound. When she looked up again, she was in the Command Center. Somehow, by accident, she had returned to _Enterprise, _leaving the captain trapped in the past.

She gathered Doctor Phlox, Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed in the ready room to explain the situation. Her return was met with surprise and hostility. "What are you doing here?" Tucker demanded. "Where is the captain?"

"We were successful in returning to the time period in which the Xindi Reptilians were hiding. We found the facility, and the captain went there to inspect," she reported. "They caught the captain and injected him with the same substance as the other test subjects. He was very ill. I stopped the poison from entering his body and, because the captain appeared to be in no condition to complete the mission, I wanted to send him back to _Enterprise _for treatment. I obtained a sample of the substance the Reptilians were using. Sending the captain back would alarm the Reptilians, but I saw no other option."

"So where's the captain?" Tucker remarked angrily. When she looked at him, she noticed that he looked tired and agitated. Feeling a surge of compassion, she realized that since he woke up from his coma, things had been difficult for him. Trip not only had to deal with the fact that he had been cloned but also that his clone had died for him. People reacted differently towards him. They shied away. She had, too. She was still struggling with the emotions surrounding Sim and him, and because of that, she wanted to keep some distance between her and Tucker.

"When I retrieved the box with the tags, I must have triggered one of the tags," she answered. It was the truth, but if another crew member had given her that answer, she would not have found it very plausible. "It returned me to _Enterprise_ instead of the captain."

"I did remind the captain that the last time he traveled through time with Daniels he had a hard time getting back," the commander said, with a grimace. "It looks like he's stuck in time again."

"This only proves my point," Lieutenant Reed said. "The standard procedure concerning away mission should be changed. There was no back up. For now, all we can do is try to deal with the situation at hand. Let Doctor Phlox examine the sample Commander T'Pol brought back. Maybe he can find a cure. We could send Commanders T'Pol and Tucker back in time to help the captain. That's the best solution."

Tucker gave Lieutenant Reed a disgruntled look. "How are we supposed to do this?"

"We must find a way to contact Daniels. Meanwhile, Doctor Phlox can start to develop a cure," she answered. She focused her attention on Phlox. "How long will it take, Doctor Phlox...." Suddenly she became very dizzy. She had trouble concentrating and then the world became black.

The next thing she knew, she woke up in sickbay lying on one of the bio beds. "She's awake, Doctor," she heard Trip say. He moved toward the bed, together with Doctor Phlox. She looked up at Trip's face. His blue eyes and the tight lines around his mouth clearly showed his concern. His whole body spoke of tension.

"You passed out during the meeting. Doctor Phlox says it has something to do with time travel and your illness," he said softly. She noticed he felt uncomfortable speaking about her _Pa'nar_ syndrome. She had never told him about her disease. He must have heard it from Doctor Phlox, when she'd become unwell. "You are in no condition for time travel."

"I must help the captain," she urged him.

"Daniels contacted us. He gave us a device that will allow us to travel back in time. I'll go with Lieutenant Reed," he said against her plea. "I realize that saving the captain means a lot to you, but sending you is too risky."

"Would using this device affect my health?" she inquired, her eyes set on him. She would have preferred to speak to Daniels herself, but he seemed to have provided an adequate solution to their problems.

Tucker paused, then he said reluctantly, "According to Daniels, it's perfectly safe. He also gave us some medication that would stabilize your synaptic pathways, but..."

"Then I will go," she concluded. She rose from the bed. "I want to see this device of Daniels' and know all the instructions Daniels gave you."

Commander Tucker gave her one more look, then he turned to Doctor Phlox. "Only if Doctor Phlox declares you fit for duty." He left to allow the doctor to continue with his work.

Doctor Phlox told her that her symptoms were gone and her condition had stabilized. He gave her some medication and warned her to report any changes to him. He told her that he preferred that she rest, but that she was able to perform her duties. Now that she had Doctor Phlox's permission, she contacted Tucker. He told her to meet him in the Command Center. On her way there, she intended to replicate dollar bills, the currency that was used in the 21th century. From her earlier travel today, she had gathered that money was too important to be without in 2004. She took the box of temporal tags and walked to the Command Center.

When she entered the Center, Lieutenant Reed was standing next to Commander Tucker, who was leaning over a small ball-shaped object. Showing her the device, the commander shared the information he had received from Daniels. "According to Daniels, this device will trace the bio signs of the Xindi Reptilians in Earth's past and then transport us to Detroit in 2004. We can stop the captain from being captured, so the timeline will continue as planned. Daniels called it his back-up plan. If that doesn't work and the captain gets caught again, you can transport the captain with the temporal tags to _Enterprise_. Doctor Phlox is still working on a cure, but hopefully he'll have the cure ready when it's needed."

"Such a device will need a lot of energy. What is the power source?" she asked.

The commander pushed on a square button on the left side of the device and a small hatch opened. She looked inside, seeing on the right, rows of tubes made of a glasslike material. On the left, she saw several plates made of a shiny material.

"It works on solar energy," Tucker said. "The energy is transformed into a great amount of energy by the tubes. Don't ask me how this works. These time-travel mechanics already give me a headache. All we have to do is push two buttons."

"I thought time travel would be more complicated," she remarked.

"It is. According to Daniels, we're actually creating a loop in time to get to the point of origin again. This point in time is the moment when you and the captain arrived in 2004. Daniels told us that only two persons are allowed on this time travel mission. It has to do with clearances. If you and Lieutenant Reed arrive at the same point in time and the captain is there, that will make three people. So Daniels suggested that when you arrive at the right time, Reed will leave the scene at once, using a temporal tag, leaving you and the captain behind and everything will be exactly as before. Daniels also told us that you can only use the temporal tags in the right time frame in Detroit in 2004. They won't work for any other time or any other place. Also, when you return to _Enterprise_, you and Reed will not remember anything about the past hours in this loop," he explained.

"Is Lieutenant Reed to accompany me on this mission?" she asked.

"He, as the head of Security, is the obvious choice," the commander replied.

She disagreed and, addressing both men, she said, "I don't doubt the abilities of the lieutenant, but I would like the commander to join me. If our success depends on a time travel device, I need his engineering expertise."

Reed and Tucker discussed this option briefly before Trip agreed, saying with a slightly bitter tone that being an engineer seemed to be his main value, and he would get some clothes from the early 21th century to get ready.

When he returned, Tucker said that the first part of their mission was to find the bio signs of the Xindi in Earth's past. He pushed a green button. After a minute, the device beeped and four numbers appeared: 2004. "We've found it," he told her. "Now we only have to push the blue button and we'll travel back to 2004. " He searched her face and offered a small smile. It reminded her of the evenings of friendship they had shared during their neuropressure sessions. "Ready?"

When she answered in the affirmative, he pushed the blue button. A flash and _Enterprise_ disappeared once more. Their rescue mission had started.

* * *

The first thing she saw was a kind of wooden shack surrounded by some not very well maintained houses. It was not the same sight as before. She clearly heard the sounds of cars so they headed towards the road. While walking, they spotted a city in the valley nearby and also a sea could be seen. The weather was much better here; it had been rainy in Detroit when T'Pol had first traveled back in time. Absolutely nothing about their environment looked right.

Tucker looked around and remarked "It sure doesn't look much like Detroit." They needed to find out where they were. Without consulting each other, they both started to walk toward the city in the valley, following the road. It was not without danger because several cars passed by them. "Did you notice that all the cars had the same sticker on their trunks?" Trip commented.

"You mean they all had a small letter E next to the number plates? I do not know of any state or place near Detroit that starts with those letters," she answered.

When a car stopped next to them, they hoped their questions were about to be answered. A friendly gentleman said something to them in a language that T'Pol recognized as Spanish. When Trip answered, the man changed to English. Tucker explained that they had been dropped off at the wrong place. The car's owner nodded, as if he had already thought of that, and offered them a ride to a place called Lloret de Mar. Before he could ask them about their place of destination, the commander said that it would be helpful if the car owner could drive them to the bus station. In response, the driver invited them to take a seat in his car. During the drive, the Spanish man chatted about the good Spanish weather and the great Spanish food. When they arrived at the bus stop, they thanked the man for his kindness. The moment he was out of sight Trip turned to her and said, "I was right. We're in the wrong place. This isn't Detroit, we're in Spain."

The town they had arrived in was a tourist spot with lots of hotels, restaurants and places where you apparently could go to dance. The city was full of young people, mostly in their twenties, dressed in summer clothing, talking in several different languages, shopping, eating and drinking. They passed the beach, which was full of people enjoying the sun or taking a swim in the nearby sea.

"This is clearly a place of relaxation," T'Pol remarked.

"Risa for young Europeans, if you asked me," Trip said with a smile. The sight of the beach and the sea seemed to have a relaxing effect on him as well. They needed a quiet place to work, so they exchanged some of the dollars T'Pol had brought with her for Spanish Euro's and rented a hotel room.

Once in the room, she took her tricorder and started to examine the time travel device.

"You always take that thing with you," Tucker joked.

"As do you," she answered, with a nod to the small square pocket holder for storing several engineering tools, which the commander had pulled out of his shirt pocket.

"I never time travel without them," he quipped, using one of his tools to have a closer look. "I can't see anything that could have caused this disruption."

The commander speculated that because the Reptilians already had been working for 2 months in the early 21th century, they may have gone first to another place like Spain, looking for young test subjects and moved to Detroit after a while. It would explain why the bio signs had led them to this place, at an earlier time in 2004. If they pushed the green button again, maybe they would find their way to Detroit.

She saw some logic in his remarks. If the Reptilians needed humans with different blood groups, maybe they had thought that they also needed different genetic groups. Since the population of this town was mainly European, they might have moved to Detroit because it had a more diverse population. For now, it was speculation without any scientific evidence.

They pushed the green button again and found a second source of Reptilian bio signs in this time frame, which confirmed their theory. When they pushed the blue button, both of them closed their eyes in anticipation of the flash which signaled the beginning of time travel. Only when she opened her eyes, her environment hadn't changed: they were still in a Spanish hotel room. Trip, who had opened his eyes, as well, glared in shock at the simple beds, the brownish curtains, the beige wallpaper, and the small desk with one chair. Then he exclaimed, "We're still here. It didn't work."

She thought about using the temporal tags as a method of time travel, but then she remembered what Trip had told her back on _Enterprise_. "We cannot use the temporal tags," she said. "They will only function in the right time and place."

"Exactly," Tucker replied. "If we can't make this device work, we're gonna be stuck in Spain in 2004. "

To be continued (very soon)

**Authors Note II: **The song T'Pol listens to in this story is _Afiladas Palabra_s (Sharp words) by Tahures Zurdos. Translation by Escriba.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Afiladas palabras y deseadas **_

or

**Sharp words to hide my heart **

**Part two**

by panyasan

**Disclaimer** : Enterprise and its characters are property of CBS/Paramount.

Some quotes are from the ENT episode _Carpenter Street_.

**Rating: **PG-13

**A****uthor's note: **Many thanks to my beta Dinah. This is the second part of my Holiday Exchange fic for Escriba. The song T'Pol listens to in this story is _Afiladas Palabra_s (Sharp words) by Tahures Zurdos.

**Summary: **A time travel mission to Detroit in 2004 to find Xindi-Reptilians in the past, has gone haywire. Captain Archer is trapped in the medical facility in Detroit in 2004 and T'Pol has accidentally returned to _Enterprise_. When she and Commander Tucker travel back in time to save the captain, they ended up in Spain in 2004 with a malfunctioning time travel device.

* * *

At the beginning of their mission, the captain had stated that all her doubts about time travel would disappear. The opposite had happened. Time travel was possible, but also illogical and not without any danger. That was the only scientific conclusion she could draw. The two times she'd time traveled, nothing had gone according to plan. The first time, the captain had been left behind in Detroit in 2004 and the second time, traveling with Commander Tucker, she'd ended up in the wrong place and time in 2004, with a time travel device that had stopped working.

When they finally found the reason for the device's malfunction, it was a simple one. Tucker pointed at several small indicators inside the device. "See those numbers. They have to do with the power. It's been drained, so there isn't enough power to transport us to the right time and place." He started brainstorming aloud. "Because it works on solar energy, we need to find a way to recharge it again. The metallic plates next to the glass tubes inside the device are solar collectors. It may sounds crazy, but there is plenty of sunlight here. We could see if placing this device in the heat of the sun could help to recharge it. If not, we have to look for other ways."

"Meanwhile we are trapped here, the captain is suffering in the past," she remarked, "and we have no idea if this will work."

"We hardly have any other options to make this device work. Besides, this is a time loop. When we jump to the right time and place, the timeline will be restored and the captain's suffering will not have happened," Tucker replied.

Following the commander's suggestion, they decided to go to a sunny place to see if the plates in the device were indeed sun collectors, providing a way to recharge the power. First, they adapted to the type of clothing everybody was wearing in this beach town. Trip redressed himself in a t-shirt and shorts, she in a summer dress with a scarf to cover her ears, and both of them wore sandals. Then they tried placing the device in several spots of sunlight and secretly measuring the reaction of the device. The collectors were indeed functioning as generators for energy. It was fortunate the people of this town were more interested in enjoying their vacations, the beach and the sun to pay much attention to them. They found out that the greatest increase in power was achieved on the beach, so they decided to catch as much sunlight as possible. After Tucker commented that even shorts and her dress would be seen as overdressed on the beach, they both bought some swimming outfits in order to blend in with the crowd.

Dressed in his colorful t-shirt and gray shorts, the commander found them a spot in the middle of the crowded beach. He took his shirt and shorts off, to reveal his aesthetically pleasing chest and some swimming trunks with bright, almost fluorescent colors and pictures of beaches and the sea. He threw her a look as if he wanted to test her reaction to his outrageous swimming trunks.

She took the bait. "Your attire is a bit colorful, but fitting for our environment, Commander," she commented.

She stepped out of her green summer dress and stretched out on a beach towel, dressed in a red swimming suit with a bare back. At the front, it was cut to an inch below her collar bone. Tucker looked at her from head to her foot.

"The red is a bit colorful, but very fitting for our environment," he said with a grin.

Despite his grin, she had clearly seen admiration in his eyes. She felt a small tinge of satisfaction, but she suppressed it right away. When she'd begun working on the Human ship, she was confronted with the rude stares of men, as well as waves of energy and sensuality, especially when she was confronted with Commander Tucker. It was overwhelming, confusing, repulsive and fascinating at the same time. In time, she had found some balance between her own rebellious and curious heart and her Vulcan upbringing. Curiosity led to danger. Still she knew that behind the surface of her _katra,_ she desired to see that admiration in his eyes again.

She focused again, told Trip that putting on sun lotion was advisable and closed her eyes. The sun was warm and her desert skin rejoiced under its rays. Tucker soon took his place next to her, the device between them. She pushed herself up on one elbow and looked at the people sunbathing, the children playing, the sand beneath her, the blue sea in front of her.

"You had better call me by my first name," Tucker suggested. "Call me Charles. It would raise fewer questions than if you called me Commander."

"I thought you preferred Trip." He nodded and wanted to say something more, but she already had decided. "Then I will call you Trip." He seemed surprised by her announcement. As the day passed on this sunny beach, she noticed that every time she called him Trip he seemed a bit taken aback, but also pleasantly surprised.

During the day, Trip went for a swim. From her place she saw him walking in the sea, swimming and coming out of the blueness of the ocean, his hair wet and drops of water glistering on his chest and arms. A little boy played next to him and started talking with him. She watched how easily he seemed to relate to the little child. She mused that it was only logical to presume that in the future, maybe the near future, Trip would find a Human woman to have his children, and he would be very content being a husband and a father. Despite the logic of her thoughts, they filled her with sadness. They disturbed her more than the knowledge of her attraction to him and she fought to suppress them.

The sun set in the ocean, casting his last orange rays over the beach. Trip checked on the device and was pleased by the progress of the energy storage. "If we spent one more day here on the beach, we'll probably have enough," he told her quietly, not to draw attention to their activity.

After a shower in their hotel room and a change of clothes, they looked for a place to eat. They found a little square close to the beach with all kind of restaurants. In the middle of the square, there was a big statue of a bird. It was painted bright white. The bird was spreading its wings like it was soaring above the ocean.

"Is that not an albatross?" she pointed out.

"It is. I didn't know you knew something about animal life on Earth," Trip responded. Then he pointed to the restaurant opposite the statue. "That looks like a nice place to eat."

Inside, the restaurant was clean, orderly and full. The chatter of people filled the room, but she could still hear the sound of music, coming from a radio in the background. A female was singing a song called "Wild dancing" and it had something to do with a song contest called Eurovision. She and Trip looked around. They heard so many different languages that Trip remarked that he had been to a lot of places, but there were still many places on Earth that he would like to see. "Like Spain. I've never been here before, but I always wanted to visit. I remember watching _Casablanca _on Movie Night and thinking I liked to visit Spain one day."

She was puzzled. "Casablanca?"

"If I remember right, you watched it too. 'Play it again, Sam,' one of the most famous movie quotes ever, is from that movie. It's a bit slow, but that's normal for a movie from the mid 20th century. It's a real classic," Trip told her, while enthusiastically loading his spoon with paella.

"Casablanca is not a place in Spain. The movie takes places in Morocco. Also your quotation is incorrect. Ilsa Lund does not say, 'Play it again, Sam,' but, 'Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.' And then Rick Blaine says, 'If she can stand it, I can! Play it,' she corrected him.

He looked surprised. "You sure did pay attention. Did you like the movie? Maybe it was too sentimental for your taste."

"The movie was quite..." She searched for the right word. "…enlightening." The movie had given her much to ponder.

"Enlightening?"

"It was educational to see a movie about a Human who did not follow his emotions, but made a logical decision to choose duty over his feelings," she explained. "I have observed that it is not uncommon in real life, but seldom seen in movies."

"I never thought of that way. I know their relationship was in the past, but it still was a difficult decision to make. So you agree that Rick chose to help Victor Laszlo, the husband of Ilsa and a famous leader of the resistance, because of the cause he was fighting for and because his work as leader of the mission was more important than love. Ilsa was the love of Rick's life," Trip refuted with some anger, for reasons unknown to her.

"I do not think the decision of Rick Blaine had anything to do with Victor Laszlo. He chose duty because of his affection for Ilsa. It serves her better," she answered, trying to put her impressions into words.

"He loves her, so he leaves her alone?" Trip replied, clearly not convinced.

She took another bite of her meal, swallowed it and said calmly, "Sometimes affection is best shown by keeping one's distance."

"I don't think so," Trip answered. They were the last words he spoke, and they finished the meal in silence.

When they returned to their hotel room, Trip's mood had improved. They both observed the device again, both clearly seeing progress in the energy levels. She then suggested that she would meditate; she had postponed it far too long. She had thought that his presence would be distracting in her attempts to focus, but, in fact, his presence in the room, simply resting on the bed, had a positive effect. After she was finished, she felt very refreshed and well and ready for their normal session of neuropressure before they went to sleep. The next day was also spent on the beach. Lying on one of towels after taking another swim, Trip remarked that this whole mission had gone different direction than he had expected. "It's a bit strange, relaxing on a beach to complete your mission. Starfleet will never believe it."

"We will not remember any of these days, so we will not be able to include it in our report," she answered.

"Yeah, I forgot," he shrugged, before moving the conversation in a totally different direction. "Do you like to swim? I can watch the ball." The ball was the nickname Trip had given to the time travel device.

She declined and they ended up bantering about her not wanting to swim and him being very noticeable in his swimming trunks. It was the starting point of many discussions, ranging from light conversations about Vulcan food – which in Trip's opinion looked very unimaginative – to subjects like why neuropressure wasn't included in the Vulcan practice of not touching. She was surprised he had thought about it. Trip was right. Vulcans refrained from touching people. She hadn't told him that touching generally applied only to family members or a mate. It would complicate their sessions. Instead, she replied that she thought that the needs of the many were served by her doing neuropressure. He was not entirely pleased with her answer and he changed subject, asking instead about her thoughts on time travel.

The day went by and they decided to go to the same restaurant as the night before. She was eating her salad when suddenly she heard a song played on the radio. A warm female voice sang a Spanish song of longing and desire.

_Hace tiempo que no cerraba los ojos_ (So much time have passed since I closed my eyes)

_y te veía tan claro, hasta creo que te he tocado_ (and I saw you so clearly, I even think I've touched you)

_Yo que intenté que lo tuyo quedara lejos_ ( I, who tried to keep you far away)

_y no sabes lo que has hecho al abrazarme así_ (and you don't know what you've done holding me like this).

Against her will, she was taken back in time, seeing Trip in a coma. Her distress. Her desire. Her heart was exposed in that one song, and she felt again the depth of her pain when the woman continued to sing.

_He __creído morirme. He creído morir_ (I thought I was dying).

With all her Vulcan strength she regained control. No more. She was above this. Then the woman finished her song.

_He __creído morir... sin ti_ (I was dying without you).

And she knew it was true. And grief and fear overwhelmed her.

She fought for control and achieved it, but somehow her emotional slip had been noticed. "Are you okay?" Trip asked. His blue eyes met hers and she rebuked herself for letting her emotions show like this. "You look a little pale. You need some fresh air. Let's go for a walk." She wanted to say she felt nothing and needed nothing, but he had already paid their bill and gestured for her to come.

A soft wind was blowing when they arrived at the beach. After they had walked for a while, Trip asked, "Are you better now? You look better."

She wanted to reply that she didn't feel any worse than before, but she failed to see the logic in that remark. So she simply nodded.

"Tomorrow we'll try to jump back to the right timeline," Trip told her. "I think we have enough power."

"That would be agreeable," she replied.

"You want to see the captain again," he stated.

"Obviously," she answered.

"Obviously. Is that all you can say about seeing your captain again?" he mocked. She didn't understand his tone. He almost sounded angry.

"You were stating an obvious fact. The purpose of this mission was to return to the point of origin – my arrival with the captain - and to correct the mistake from the first attempt at time travel," she retorted. "So it is only logical that I want to see the captain again."

"Tell me T'Pol, you almost break down hearing a song about a person dying – my Spanish is rusty, but I do understand the word for dying – while you call me Trip with a voice so gentle it gives me goose bumps just to hear it. I don't understand."

"You rather have me call you commander?" she concluded, puzzled.

"No! Whatever! Forget I asked!" he shouted and walked away.

She sat down on the beach, wondering what he had said. She mulled his words over and over. She knew he'd come back when she smelled him, standing close to her. He looked tired, but his face still bore a trace of anger.

"You think I have romantic feelings for the captain," she told him.

"It looks that way," he said, while taking a seat next to her.

"The captain is my commanding officer. The last time I saw him he was suffering. I want to restore the timeline for his benefit and also for the success of the mission. His death would affect the crew greatly," she answered.

"That's it? My commanding officer? What about the fact that he visits your quarters in the middle of the night? And what about all the trips you take together, like this mission?"

"There is always some emergency when the captain comes to my quarters. As for our recent mission, he asked me to accompany him. I am his first Officer. I don't think we go on missions that often together. It is related to our work."

"What about that trip you took last year. That was personal. You wouldn't tell anybody where you were going, but you chose the captain to go with you. You trust him. He is your friend," Trip continued, speaking rapidly, as though this had been on his mind for a long time.

Was the captain her friend? She knew she'd tried to work with him on a friendly basis – he seems to work more efficiently that way - and she understood more about the captain than he probably knew about himself. If he died, it would affect her. But the captain hardly knew her outside her role as First Officer, nor was he interested in doing so. Or she in him.

"I think the word 'friend' is not the correct word to describe my relationship with the captain," she answered.

"Then who do you consider a friend?" he interrupted.

There was only one answer. "I consider you a friend," she softly spoke.

He gave a sound that she knew Humans make when they don't believe something. "You don't believe me," she concluded.

"I think I have a different view of what friendship is, T'Pol. Friends tell things to each other. Important things like a fatal illness. I had to hear from Doctor Phlox that you were ill. You keep your distance so we won't become friends. And it's working just fine," he reasoned. "And I made a huge mistake to bring this up. Let's go back the hotel."

She was tempted to do so and forget about this strange conversation. The hidden anger and sadness in the last words he'd spoken made her say, "You base your assumption on a journey I made with the captain. When was this?"

He sighed. "The first week of July, last year. Don't tell me it wasn't an important mission. You both went without saying anything, leaving me in the dark about your whereabouts. You were both gone for a week. When you came back, I could tell something had happened."

It had. The events on Pernaia Prime and her meeting with Menos had made an impact that only she knew. Menos was tied to her difficult past in more ways than she'd revealed to the captain. She had asked the captain to accompany her because he was more neutral towards her then Trip. It was the right decision. The captain had bought into her story and had noticed nothing strange about her. She knew Trip would have. She remembered coming back and Trip giving her a look that she'd wondered about for months to come. It was the same look she had seen in this conversation, a look of hurt, wounded pride, tinged with bitterness.

After her mission to Pernaia Prime, T'Pol noticed that there was a subtle change in their working relationship. Two months later, when Trip and a woman calling herself a princess were lost and later found in a compromising position, she'd prided herself on not showing any of the burning jealousy which ran through her veins and stirred feelings of anger in her that she could only call primitive Vulcan. The event had showed her, once more, the growing distance between them. Logically, that distance was the right course to take.

"I cannot disclose any details about my journey to Pernaia Prime," she told him. "It was a secret mission for the Vulcan Ministry of Security."

It was getting darker and only the silver lines of the moon, reflected in the water, made it possible for her to see his features. Normally she could read his emotions, but now his face looked closed when he answered, "So I've been told. None of my business. I moved on fast."

"So you did," she responded, too fast. "You made some new friends very quickly."

Her words, colored by traces of her discomfort about the princess and Trip, caused him to say emotionally, "What's that suppose to mean?"

She realized her mistake, but couldn't stop now. "You had your own week-long trip two months later. You were found in much more involved circumstances then the captain and I were."

He snorted. "You know, I thought you were going to grill me about that back then, but you didn't. You were right. Whatever went on with me and that woman is none of your business. Keep it that way."

"I will. I will not interfere with your relationships with women," she responded, wanting to end this.

"Good. Don't give me the jealous Vulcan routine. Not after a year. You weren't jealous back then. And why should you be jealous? We're nothing more than co-workers, which is probably for the best," he said.

"I am not the one who started displaying jealous behavior. The event you were referring to earlier was also a year ago," she responded. "But you are right. Distance is for the best."

"Because you don't want to get too attached to an emotional, irrational human like me," he concluded.

"It may surprise you, but I do not care about your emotions. That is what makes you Human. I do not think I possess the prejudice of many other Vulcan," she told him.

"So what's the problem?"

His question made all her struggles resurface in such a strong fashion that at first she did not know how to respond. Silence settled between them. She looked at this face, his blue eyes, honest and true, his alien blond hair, and the shape of his body. Should she tell him the truth? It wouldn't matter if she did, because tomorrow everything that happened between them would be gone.

That last thought drove her to answer his question in all honesty, summing up all her reasoning and logic since the day they met. "I cannot give you want you need."

"What I need," he spat, emphasizing the word, I. "Let me be the judge of that. You don't even know what you need."

His last remark both astonished and irritated her, and she quickly tried to suppress these feelings. "And what do I need, according to you?"

He paused, looked down at her and lowered his head to meet her eyes. There was a tension between them like never before, like they were both looking at each other for the first time, seeing their unveiled _katras _behind their eyes.

Then he met her challenge by saying "Something that makes you feel alive."

She wanted to refute his statement by saying that she was alive, and that she would outlive him by more than a hundred years. Instead, she took action – she kissed him and he kissed her back, making her feel alive and warm and bursting with energy.

Their kiss was just the beginning. Each new kiss was even more frantic. To feel the touch of his lips, the touch of his hand on her back. She felt a tongue and pushed it away, almost choking, but the tongue came back, and now that she understood the method, it dueled with her own. Their kissing ended when she lay down on the sand, feeling the gritty material beneath her. Trip lay crossways next to her, his head and part of his shoulders on her stomach, the rest of his body on the sand.

He tilted his head and she heard more then saw in the dark, with only the moonlight as lighting, the glitter of jest in his eyes when he said, "Now Humans call that a make out session. You probably have a very logical explanation for this."

She looked up to him. Desire from long ago, rooted in the day she met him, arose, making her want to touch his hair, to let her fingers wander through his locks of hair, feeling the texture beneath her fingertips. But she didn't move. Instead she answered his question. "It can be an effective way of releasing tension."

Her answer made him laugh, a laugh that washed over her. "I think, Darling, we just managed to created a whole new level of tension."

He seemed to feel very at ease, lying so close to her. "So you are attracted to me, but you don't want to become too attached. According to what I've read and know about Vulcans, they base their relationships on mutual understanding, not physical attraction. So isn't this strange behavior?"

She was surprised that he had taken an interest in her species, but then again, she shouldn't be. He'd always been curious about who she was, instead of looking at her as the First Officer or the alien female. She rose and, when he went with her, they finally met eye to eye. His face was close when he added in a firm voice, "You can tell me now. We're now living in a world without consequences. Tomorrow nothing of this will have taken place."

"It is strange behavior," she agreed, "because I am already attached to you."

"Why the change of heart? Ever since I woke up from that coma, people have been avoiding me. You have too. You don't know what it's like to wake up and find a piece of your life is missing. You hear that they've cloned you; you have something alien in your brain, because you're the Chief Engineer and important for the mission. Then they tell you the clone has given his life for you. Who was he? What happened? Nobody will tell you and friends keep their distance. You did. That was the worst." He turned to her. "I liked being with you. Your quarters had become like home to me. I thought you felt the same. Then you distanced yourself from me. But tonight you break down when you hear a song about the captain dying, and it felt like everything just washed away. I don't get it."

She knew what it was like to wake up with no memories, but it was not the time to share this with him. "I do care about the captain's condition, but I was not thinking of him. There was another person who almost died – and I had to face the idea of him not waking up from his coma."

He didn't respond so she continued, letting her thoughts escape from the place in her mind where she'd kept them safely stored away. "There was also a boy, who was a younger version of him. He was also unique, and his presence affected me greatly. He told me that the man in the coma had romantic feelings for me."

She had never spoken so openly and so clearly about her feelings, nor had she ever felt comfortable doing so. But in this world, in a loop outside their own time, she took this opportunity to tell him. "The threat of you dying, the thought that you were attached to me as well – something I never imagined you would be capable of – all this provoked strong emotions in me. Everything Vulcans do, we do with the greatest intensity. We can only have affections for one person and it consumes us. It consumes me. And I cannot act on it. It would not be right – not for me, not for you."

"And you are terrified of these emotions," Trip responded, "so you push me away." He smiled at her as if he wanted to give her comfort and not in a million year would she understand him. She only understood that his smile was the reason she had become attached to him. They both didn't speak for a while in a surprisingly comfortable silence.

"What was he like? Sim, I mean. What kind of man was he?" Trip broke the silence.

"He was kind, intelligent, friendly," she replied. "He was you. Only younger."

"Only a younger version of me would tell you that I had some feelings for you," Trip remarked, half smiling. "He's braver than I am. When did he tell you?"

"He visited my quarters just before he had to go." She paused. "I kissed him. He said he would die a happy man." She felt that Trip wanted to ask her about the kiss and before he could, she added, "He was a boy. I kissed him like I would kiss a boy."

"How do you kiss a boy?" he wanted to know.

"Like this." She moved her head and kissed him gently, tenderly, like she had Sim. "This is a kiss for a boy. I kiss you as a man. You have experience with that."

He grinned quickly and then she kissed him, a kiss of passion, affection and tenderness. "Like this." He acted on her kiss and kissed her more aggressively, like he was claiming her and with a longing that matched hers. Their conversation stopped for a couple of moments.

She felt it was getting colder. The vest on top of her dress wasn't warm enough anymore. Trip offered his jacket, saying she needed it more. She could smell his unique sent, coming from his clothing. Despite the colder surroundings, she didn't want to leave and they didn't want to return to the town. They stayed on the beach, sitting next to each other. Neither of them wanted to go back to their normal lives. So they stayed until the new morning came.

T'Pol woke up. Judging by the light of the sun it was already morning. She took the device out of the plastic bag where they always carried it and placed it in the sun. Today they would leave. She removed the sand from her clothing, moved her bones, stiff after a night sleeping on the beach. It was very quiet and she decided to meditate on the beach. She saw Trip lying on the sand, eyes closed, fast asleep. When she opened her eyes again after meditating, he was still lying in the same position. She moved towards him on her knees. He was in a deep sleep, lying on his stomach with his head resting on his arms. Her hand moved through his hair, stroking his locks. They were soft and yet firm, different then the thicker and sturdier hair of Vulcans. Trip opened his eyes. She withdrew her hand quickly.

"I'm awake." Trip smiled, his eyes fixed on her. He stood up, moved around to chase away the stiffness of his body. He held her for a minute, giving her a somewhat clumsy embrace, like he felt uncomfortable in sunlight and preferred the safety of the darkness. "Let's go back. I can use a shower."

They didn't speak a word until they had both showered and dressed. Trip examined the device. "A few more hours of sun and we'll have enough power. We're leaving today."

They didn't exchange any words about the night on the beach, spending the last hours before departure with small tasks and work-related conversation. Finally, the moment of departure had arrived. They both were dressed in their old clothing, placing their new summer clothing in a bag for the new arrivals to this hotel room to find.

Before he pushed the button, Trip looked around the hotel room. "I'm going to miss this place. " He looked at her. "It's been an unusual stay, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. After the jump we will not remember anything. Everything will be back to normal. Like before—just two co-workers on a mission."

She knew what he was trying to say. They would go on with their lives on _Enterprise_. She would keep her distance, and he would grow tired of her, move on and find another woman. These days had made their connection stronger and just thinking about this prospect made intense jealousy come alive in her, like a stream of lava, consuming everything in its way. She realized that when it happened, she would need every inch of her Vulcan control to keep her jealousy from showing. It was a warning for her, a harbinger of things to come.

Trip pushed the first button. "It's set," he confirmed after a few minutes. "Ready?"

"I am," she replied. Then she turned to him. "Kiss me, Trip. Kiss me as time goes by."

* * *

He gave a short smile and took her into his arms. He stroked her hair softly, then nuzzled his nose into her neck and whispered, "If you can stand it, I can." Then as he kissed her. It was the kiss that made her suddenly think – knowing like a scientific fact - that one day, in their real time, she would a have a conversation with Trip like the one they'd had on the beach. Trip pushed the second button, there was a flash and everything became black.

She and Commander Tucker had arrived at the right point in time. She saw the captain standing on the same spot as before. The commander used a temporal tag to go back to _Enterprise _without the captain noticing, and she and the captain started their mission. They soon found Loomis, the man who was abducting people as test subjects for the development of a biological weapon for the Xindi Reptilians. Loomis was persuaded to help them and he smuggled the captain into the facility. When the Reptilians were out of sight, he investigated the facility. She made sure the comm link was open, so she would be able to help at the first sign of trouble. Waiting in the car, she didn't have to wait long before the communicator chirped. **"**They brought a bio-reactor with them. They're synthesizing some kind of viral agent," the captain reported. **"**Rajiin warned us about a bio-weapon. This could be it. "

"Why would they travel back through time?" she asked.

"Daniels said they might be hiding from someone. The past seems like a pretty good place to hide," the captain said. "We've got to keep them from getting it back to our time."

She asked him if he was in a position to disable the Reptilians. The captain didn't know and wondered about the safest way to immobilizing them.

"They must have some kind of temporal beacon. If you can destroy it, they'll have no way of getting back," she suggested.

"I've got to find it first," the captain replied.

"Modify your scanner to a delta band frequency. That should help you locate the signal from the temporal beacon," she advised.

She waited for the captain to find the beacon, until she heard from him again by communicator. "They've gone out the west door. They could be headed for the street. They have the virus. "

She rushed to help him. When Xindi's ran out of the building, she hit one of them. Then she stunned Loomis and followed the captain, who was chasing the other Xindi to the rooftop. This Reptilian was carrying the virus and he took it out of its case. The captain fired to stop him, but instead, the Reptilian got away. He was hidden in the dark and the captain left to try to catch the Reptilian from behind. She heard a struggle and the captain saying, "Don't move a muscle. Drop it. Why a second weapon? Where were you going to take it?"

"We won't allow you to destroy us. Your species is doomed," the Reptilian answered before lunging for the virus and being shot. Still, he managed to push the virus case and it rolled towards an extractor fan. The captain grabbed it before it fell in while she tagged the body.

"Let's go," the captain said. There had been three Reptilians working in the facility and all of them had died, in the fight. So they placed temporal tags on the three bodies of the Reptilians and the bio-reactor they had brought from the future, the captain was holding the virus case, when they got ready for time travel and with a flash they were back on _Enterprise_.

In the corridor, Commander Tucker was waiting. The captain called for Lieutenant Reed to send a team down to the Command Center. "Wait here for Malcolm. Have everything brought to Cargo Bay Two. I've got to get this to Phlox," he told her.

"What's going on?" the Commander asked her.

"Come with me," she said and walked toward the Command Center.

Seeing a bio-reactor and three Xindi Reptilians in there, Tucker remarked "You found what you looking for and took with you from the past."

"It seems our mission has been successful," she replied.

The day had come to an end. She was back in her quarters, waiting for Trip to arrive for his neuropressure session. She had made up her mind. She should be more professional toward him than she had been. No more visits to Engineering, unless absolutely necessary. No more asking if he could touch a sensitive spot or delaying their session with small talk. The door bell rang and there he was.

Standing in the doorway, he was dressed in his usual gray shirt and sweatpants. The light of the corridor shone on his blond hair, and for a strange second she realized she knew that if she stroked his hair it would feel soft, yet firm underneath her fingertips. She pushed this thought away. _The Expanse had a strange effect on me_, she thought. When he came in, she studied his face: his eyebrows, the look in his blue eyes, his nose, his mouth. She knew that if she kissed those lips she would taste him and smell him and that she would love it. This second illogical thought distressed her, so she suppressed it. She clearly needed some meditation.

They started their session. He took off his shirt and, when she went to touch the neural nodes on his back, she saw that beneath his neck there was an area that seemed red. It looked like he had a sunburn, but there was no sunshine on a starship. She moved her fingertips over the spot to examine it, which made Trip jump. Craning his head towards her, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"There is some redness in this area."

"It's a bit painful. I must have bumped against something in Engineering," he explained.

She didn't like his explanation. It meant that he was absent-minded. The last time he bumped into something, he ended up in a coma. Her task was to make sure that the Chief Engineer functioned at peak efficiency. The logical course of action was to put out of her mind what Sim had told her and concentrate on the wellbeing of Tucker. That meant keeping her distance on the ship, as well as providing neuropressure and an attentive ear during the sessions. That would have to be her role for some time to come.

She told Trip she was ready to start the session, concentrated on his neural nodes on his back and moved her fingers to the first spot.

"Breathe," she said.


End file.
